ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Jered Weaver pitched like the ace he is and Jordan Walden preserved the victory, looking very much like the closer the Angels need.

Weaver won his second consecutive start, Torii Hunter and Alberto Callaspo each had two RBIs and the Angels beat the winless Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 on Tuesday.

“Jered did what you want a guy to do, continue to the pound the zone,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Make your pitches.”

Weaver (2-0), the major league strikeout leader last season, allowed one run and three hits in 6<MD+,%30,%55,%70>2/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>3 innings. It is the first time since his rookie season in 2006 he has started with consecutive victories.

Walden earned his first save with a perfect ninth that included a strikeout. He replaced Fernando Rodney, who was dropped from the closer role to work on his mechanics.

“Being a reliever, you always want to have the ball in your hands at the very end of the game,” Walden said. “When I found out, I was very excited.”

The 23-year old Walden had one save last year, when he made 16 relief appearances in his first big league season.

“It’s good to nail those down,” Scioscia said. “Jordan has a clean ninth. I think he’s confident. The talent’s there. Hopefully he’ll take off and run with it.”

The Angels’ Bobby Abreu reached base for the eighth consecutive plate appearance with a first-inning single.

He went 5 for 5 with two walks in Sunday’s 13-inning, 12-9 loss at Kansas City. Abreu’s streak ended when he flied out to deep center in the second.

Hank Conger hit his first career home run by connecting against Jeff Niemann (0-1) for a 4-0 lead in the second inning.

Hunter had an RBI single and Callaspo drove in a pair with a single as the Angels went ahead 3-0 in the first inning. Hunter entered 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

“Anytime you get four or five runs to work with, it makes your job a lot easier,” Weaver said.

Sean Rodriguez pulled the Rays within 4-1 on his third-inning solo homer. Hunter extended the Angels’ advantage with an RBI single in the fifth.